Hi Chicken Friends! We have a patched together flock of six girls (1 Buff Orp., 1 Comet, 4 White Rocks), and late yesterday a friend emailed to see if he could bring us his 4 yr old Jersey Giant. He'd had 8 hens, and he and his wife foster rescued dogs...unfortunately, yesterday the coop gate was left ajar and one of their rescue Huskies killed all but the Jersey Giant. He brought her last night after dark and put her in our coop where the Buff & Comet sleep/nest. This morning, the other two were clamoring to get out to free range, but the JG stayed in the top roost/nest area. I peeked in on her a time or two, and last I checked, she was head-first tucked into the farthest nest box. (My friend said when he found her at his house, she was in a nest box, cooing. Poor thing!) So here's (finally) my question: should I just leave her alone? Or is there something I can do to help her recover a bit, encourage her to come out to eat/drink/etc.? The coop is locked, but it has a little run area. I'm hoping she'll come down both for her sake but also so the other hens can see her/start interacting a bit with her through the fence, at the very least. (Honestly, I'll bet the other two didn't even notice her in the dark roost/nest area b/c she's so dark!) Thoughts?? Thank you! p.s. Here's a wild thing: just this morning saw a Facebook post by our friend who brought her over last night. On his way home from a very early meeting this morning, he found a Barred Owl sitting in the middle of the road. It had apparently been hit, and he was able to get it in his car. It's now resting in his empty chicken coop while he is working to get ahold of our local raptor rescue! Amazing how things go...
I would wait another day or two and if she keeps acting that way then there might be something wrong. Check her over for any injuries that can't be seen from just glancing at her as this could be the problem. I assume she is just a little shocked and stressed from her experience.
